A farewell show of sorts

Students from the Pacific School of Ballet, in Laguna Hills, perform a diverse range of sets as they near the end of their season.

July 30, 2009|By Paul Oginni

Dancers pranced and pirouetted across the Plaza Arts Stage during Thursday’s performance at the Orange County Fair. They danced eight sets, ranging in style from lyrical ballads to modern rock.

The girls were from the Pacific School of Ballet in Laguna Hills. They have been practicing for 10 months, and have come to the end of their performing season.

The younger performers took the stage first, dancing to the classic song “The Loco-Motion.” They were followed by two jazzy sets and a traditional ballet solo.

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The next group leaped and twirled to “Move Along” by the All-American Rejects. Two sets later, the performance concluded with an up-beat performance of “Pull Shakes.”

Jim Anderson of Laguna Hills watched his daughter perform.

“She did well,” he said. “And she had a great time.”

Anderson and his wife, Diane, were impressed by the range of ages and skill levels that were on stage.

“The kids came from different levels,” Diane Anderson said.

“What’s amazing is when you watch the older performers and see how much they have progressed.”

Viewer Penny Buscemi said the different styles of dance allowed for a range of expression.

“Some of the other dances don’t allow for as much emotion,” she said. “It’s nice that my daughter tap dances. I get to see her smile as she performs.”

Tiffany Buscemi, her daughter, was still beaming after the show.

“It’s hard to do all the moves correctly and to do the synchronically. As I was getting on stage, I was thinking ‘Don’t slip.’ “

For some of the dancers, Thursday’s performance was a farewell of sorts. Dancer Jessica Crotts will soon be leaving for college.

“I think we did pretty well,” she said. “The hardest past was just remembering all the moves — it’s been a while since our last round of rehearsals. It’s exciting and relieving when I finally make it to the end of the set.”

“This is one of my daughter’s final performances here,” said her father, John Crotts. “It’s a special performance.”